Audiences in the U.K. and elsewhere who have been eagerly awaiting a quality English-subtitled DVD release of action director Prachya Pinkaew’s latest martial arts movie starring beautiful and fierce screen fighting newcomer JeeJa Yanin won’t have to wait too much longer. Cine Asia is releasing CHOCOLATE (2008 – trailer), the latest martial arts movie sensation from Thailand, to DVD and Blu-ray in the U.K. on November 3rd following an Oct. 24th theatrical debut in London.
While good news for Brits and folks willing to pony up extra coin to order overseas, I and my fellow Americans continue to wait for The Weinstein Company to announce a DVD release date for CHOCOLATE here. So far all we have is a February blog post from TWC’s Asian acquisitions master Bey Logan.
INTRODUCING THE FEMALE ANSWER TO TONY JAA!
CHOCOLATE, the movie that has been causing an unprecedented buzz of anticipation amongst action movie and martial arts fans worldwide ever since it first went into production is finally here! So get ready to be blown away once more as Prachya Pinkaew, the director of Ong-Bak and Warrior King – and the man responsible for introducing the world to the dazzling talents of Tony Jaa – unleashes a new, female Muay Thai fighting sensation, JeeJa Yanin. And, as with his earlier films, Pinkaew once again employs the much-lauded and unique Thai style of filmmaking that eschews stunt doubles, special effects and camera trickery in favour of full-on, full contact combat that brings a whole new level of bone-crushing reality to CHOCOLATE’s action sequences.
Directed by Pinkaew, CHOCOLATE stars JeeJa Yanin as Zen, a young autistic girl with a sweet tooth and a penchant for Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Tony Jaa movies whose uncanny ability to mimic her heroes’ martial arts skills has made her an unlikely but equally awesome fighting force. When Zen’s mother is diagnosed with cancer and finds herself unable to afford the medical treatment she requires, Zen and her best friend Mangmoom set about calling in a long list of debts owed to her mother. What Zen doesn’t realize is the money is owed by gangsters and killers, all rivals from her mother’s days as the head of a mafia clan and none of them are willing to pay up without a fight!
Like Tony Jaa, JeeJa Yanin spent several years training under the tutelage of stunt maestro and martial arts choreographer Panna Rittikrai (director of Born To Fight and stunt coordinator on Ong-Bak and Warrior King) in preparation for the role of Zen and the results speak for themselves. CHOCOLATE is an amazing, non-stop action extravaganza equal to any martial arts movie that has come before.
Among the film’s many highlights are a dynamic, crowd-pleasing homage to Bruce Lee’s legendary icehouse fight from The Big Boss and a jaw-dropping finale that sees Vismitananda taking on all comers in a breathtaking extended fight sequence that takes place high above the streets on the window sills, ledges and neon signboards of a multi-storey building. And, of course, the closing credits sequence shows, in wince-inducing detail, just what happens behind the scenes when the stars perform their own stunts in this kind of full-contact martial arts actioner.
CHOCOLATE (cert. 18) is released by Cine Asia. The film will open at selected UK cinemas on 24th October 2008 and will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 3rd November 2008.